Piece It Together - Gavin Reed

24

Night had passed leaving the morning sun to rise, shining down on the scene unfolding. Y/n was rushing around, brushing her teeth so hard she was making her gums bleed. Gavin was making scrambled eggs whilst the girl ran around the house, casually listening to the songs on the radio that were slipping into Christmas territory due to it being late November. Practically falling into the kitchen, Y/n rushed to button her shirt up as she watched Gavin cook, "Hurry up, we've got places to be!"

"Unlike you, I take 5 minutes to get ready."

"I don't care, you're too slow! Pick up the pace!"

Serving the girl her scrambled eggs, he went to his room to get changed whilst she ate her breakfast. Coming out five minutes later, just as he said he would, he was dressed in his usual attire for work and had a scent that Y/n recognized immediately as his cologne wafting from him.

She finished in the time he took to get ready, getting up just as he sat down with his own breakfast. Rushing to the bathroom, she did her makeup whilst he ate, another 5 minutes going down before both of them had their bags and were ready to leave.

Silence rang through the car as they drove to the precinct, her leg bouncing in anticipation as she prayed that they would find something, anything, on those cameras.

Nines waited outside of the precinct, snowflakes coating his hair and melting, giving it a wet glisten as the sun peeked through the clouds to shine on it. Already unbuckling her seatbelt as they were pulling up to park, she practically raced out of the car, Gavin following behind as he jogged after her. Giving Nines a quick greeting, he followed the two in as all three signed in, running to Fowler's office.

"Captain, do you have the camera footage?" Y/n asked, bouncing on her toes.

"Indeed. I've got the footage on my computer here so I'll keep an eye on you whilst you find what you're looking for." Standing from his desk, he moved so that the three could watch the footage. As Gavin was about to pass him, he gave a stern look of intimidation, "Don't break anything."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Y/n sat in the Captain's chair, pulling herself towards the desk before moving the time along to an hour before the murder took place. Fast forwarding a bit, she watched carefully until Nines quickly spotted Gemma walking with someone. Both were wearing facemasks and large coats, the other figure barely identifiable besides one thing:

"That's definitely a guy."

"You can't just assume that, Gavin-"

"Keep playing the tape."

Y/n sighed, playing the tape once again as the scene continued, both Gemma and the killer walking towards the house. Moving to the door, Gemma got her keys out and began unlocking the door, the killer pulling down their hood to reveal blonde hair that has been recently cut, being styled as well.

"There's no doubt that's a dude."

"Let's assume that this is a guy, who could this guy be?"

"She was a single woman who lived alone."

"Yeah, he could just be a date."

"But that can't be the case!" The two looked at Gavin who looked frustrated, "This guy knows Y/n, it can't just be some random guy Gemma met. Y/n left Detroit 18 years ago and she only met Jamie during that time, right?"

"Yeah, I never met anyone else here."

"Perhaps it was Jamie?"

"Jamie... shot himself after an interrogation."

"I see."

The three went silent as they finished the clip, the two entering the house and him exiting 5 minutes later, not a spot of blood on him.

"He must have hidden the bloody shirt under his jacket."

"Can you follow the cameras to see where he went?"

"The cameras end at the end of the street. We wouldn't see where he went."

"What about the footprints in the snow?"

"The snow was heavy that day, the prints were covered up pretty quickly."

"If you three are done, I'd like you to continue this outside of my office," Fowler stated, looking grumpy from having to deal with the three of his employees debating in his office when he, too, had work to do. Y/n apologised on behalf of the three of them, leaving the office. Sitting at her desk, she sighed and held her head in her hands as she tried to find some correlation.

The hours passed her by leaving her with low morale and a growling stomach by lunchtime. Throwing her jacket on, she let Gavin know where she'd be getting lunch before taking his car keys and leaving. With the drive being quiet, it was only fitting that the coffee shop she entered was bustling with life. Businessmen carried their hot drinks out of the building with an ear against the phone while university students typed rapidly against their keyboard, practically shaking from the caffeine in their systems.

Wandering to the line, 5 minutes had passed before a young cashier dragged her back to reality, "What would you like to order?" He was at least 16, standing at 5'7. Shaggy hair brushed his lashes, some facial hair and acne dotted around.

"Can I order a hot chicken, bacon and cheese sandwich and 2 lattes?"

"Uh-huh, that'll be $12.79." Handing him the cash, she stood to the side waiting for the meal. Head in the clouds, she stared into space when she felt a warm figure stand beside her.

"Detroit weather kinda sucks, huh?" Turning to her side, she saw Tommy standing there wearing some plain jeans, a black beanie, and a comfy blue duffel coat that insulated all the warmth inside of the cafe.

"Tommy?"

"Hey, didn't think you'd ever come back to this shithole!"

Letting a soft laugh escape, she shook her head, "New York was fine but the misogyny in the workplace was terrible so I decided to come back!"

"Did you manage to become a detective like you always wanted?"

"Yeah, I work for the DPD. Remember Gavin from high school? He's my partner."

"No way, I thought he fell into drugs!"

"Yeah, he did, but he managed to get out of it."

"Well, I'm glad he made something of himself."

"Me too..." Trailing off, she turned to him, "So, what did you get up to since I left?"

"Ah, I joined a major league football team."

"That's great! I bet you love it, huh?"

"Yeah, it's the best. Honestly, all that work throughout the years paid off." Turning to her, he held a hand on her shoulder, "Thanks to you."

"Me? I didn't do anything-"

"No, you did. You were such a fantastic influence and you helped me realise my potential. Thank you, Y/n."

"I-I..." Visibly flinching, both of them turned to the cashier who yelled Y/n's name, "I better get going. See you around!" Just as she moved to leave, Tommy's grip on her shoulder tightened.

"Wait! I wanna see you again, maybe we could meet up during your next lunch break?" His grip loosened once he saw he had gained her full attention and was thinking about his words.

"Sure. Put your number on my phone and I'll text you when my lunch is tomorrow, okay?" Giving her phone to him, she watched as he entered his number and put in a name before handing it back, leaving her to grab her lunch and hug Tommy goodbye, leaving for the car.gt